Argh! Newbie intro & help - vegan definition - done

[Guest guest]

Argh! I am truly enjoying this discussion. I do realize it gets

tricky for people though, so I am more than happy to end what I

started. But alas, I am human.

 

So here goes.

I found some interesting definitions:

Veganism (also known as strict vegetarianism or pure vegetarianism),

as defined by the Vegan Society, is " a philosophy and way of living

which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practical—all forms

of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any

other purpose. " [1] A vegan (one who practices veganism) does not

consume or use animal products, notably meat, fish, poultry, eggs and

dairy products.[2] People become vegans for a variety of reasons,

including ethical concerns for animal rights or the environment, as

well as health benefits and spiritual or religious concerns.[3][4]

 

The word vegan, usually pronounced [vee & #720;gan], was originally derived

from " vegetarian " in 1944 when Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson,

frustrated that the term " vegetarianism " had come to include the

eating of dairy products, founded the UK Vegan Society.[5] They

combined the first three and last two letters of vegetarian to

form " vegan, " which they saw as " the beginning and end of

vegetarian. " [5][6] The British Vegan Society defines veganism in this

way:

 

 

[T]he word " veganism " denotes a philosophy and way of living which

seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of

exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any

other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of

animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the

environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing

with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.

– Vegan Society[1]

 

I will do some deeper digging in the future. I am learning so much.

Thanks to Peter who mentioned dietary vegan - I have found that in

other places.

 

I called some friends/acquaintances (I work in a college) and found:

people call themselves what they want :-) - I will respect them for

that - I talked to a Muslim who identified herself as vegan, but she

eats honey (who knew!), another person in the whole foods market said

they were " Strict vegan " but had leather car seats - oh my, - a

jewish vegan gave me a long story about the kosher tradition and food

labels. Wow, got a lunch date at a local restaurant that serves vegan-

friendly kurdish dishes - Yay - thanks to this group for urging me to

look about.

 

So, in the final analysis, at least for this week :-), I am going to

proudly call myself vegan, because that is what I believe I am. I'll

stick with this group - *love* the vegetable conversations - but I

will probably stay out of the more political/ethical discussions for

now if you don't mind - I am more interested in finding where I can

get fresh durian and a person to share it with than who is pure vegan

or not - I am not a pure anything, by the way, lol.

 

Joy to all of you

 

Shells .... peanut shells

[Guest guest]

At 6:00 PM +0000 5/16/07, sbibeau wrote:

.....I am more interested in finding where I can

>get fresh durian and a person to share it with than who is pure vegan

>or not - I am not a pure anything, by the way, lol.

 

Science writer David Quammen wrote a wonderful essay on that topic.

It involved going to Indonesia? Thailand? and finding a person to

guide him through the jungle to find a durian tree, then finding a

perfectly ripe one. IIRC they don't travel well.

[Guest guest]

I have seen them frozen in the local asian store, but have resisted

purchase as I do believe they should be fresh - I will look for that

essay, thanks.

 

Shells

 

, yarrow wrote:

>

> At 6:00 PM +0000 5/16/07, sbibeau wrote:

> ....I am more interested in finding where I can

> >get fresh durian and a person to share it with than who is pure vegan

> >or not - I am not a pure anything, by the way, lol.

>

> Science writer David Quammen wrote a wonderful essay on that topic.

> It involved going to Indonesia? Thailand? and finding a person to

> guide him through the jungle to find a durian tree, then finding a

> perfectly ripe one. IIRC they don't travel well.

>